


Out in the Cold

by nevereatdirt



Series: NEDWrites Oneshots [29]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humanstuck, Mistletoe, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 13:46:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2852972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nevereatdirt/pseuds/nevereatdirt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your name is Karkat Vantas and holy shit is she just crazy enough to love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Out in the Cold

 You aren't sure when this stupid crush started. You haven't really been keeping track of the years you've known her, and that would really tell you how long you've had a crush. _You're lying to yourself the answer is sixty-nine months. It's been almost six years now._ But really you have a hard enough time with dealing with your feelings when you don't have to come to terms with liking a kind of crazy, almost legally blind girl. Not that you care about those things. You think she's great. She's badass and smart and hilarious and _beautiful_ and you feel like an idiot every time you catch yourself staring because you know that everyone else knows.

It probably doesn't help that your face turns bright red any time she looks too long in your general direction or your friends tease you about it. Or that your ears are just as bright. Really, you do hate how your entire family seems to be cursed with physically showing their embarrassment that way. You'd rather everyone not know what you're feeling so you let your hair grow out and dye it black only to cover yourself up in long sleeves year round.

Fortunately this time of year everyone is doing that, though. It's cold as balls out and you wouldn't be caught dead without your oversized parka. But that's when you see Terezi in the distance and realize that she doesn't have anything but shorts and a tanktop on. Walking up to her, your eyes really the only thing visible through your layers, you just stand close enough and announce your presence. “Seriously, Terezi? It's sub-fucking-zero out here.”

It takes her a second for her eyes to land on you, but she just laughs and smiles. “What, think I won't last out here, Karkat?” Her smile is broad and her laughter unnerving in the best of ways, but you can see the way her skin is flushed and how she's shivering like a leaf in the wind.

“Uh, you might have the will to last out here, Pyrope, but your body fucking doesn't. Come on, my car is just down the block, I'll give you a ride home.”

“No can do!” She holds her hands up. “I made a bet and I won't lose.”

“What was the bet?”

“That I wouldn't stand out here wearing just this.”

You stare, your jaw dropped ever so slightly before you just shake your head. “Okay, you know what? That's ridiculous. You unzip your knee-length parka and hold it open. “Come on. Get in here, it's warm as fuck and there's room for more than just me. I'm scrawny as fuck man, and so are you.” You know this is a bad idea. It is a terrible horrible no good very bad idea and you are about to let it happen.

But she just smiles up at you and moves into your coat, fitting in beside you and practically clinging to you for warmth. “Damn, Rezi, how fucking long have you been _out_ here?”

“About half an hour.” She presses against you more and you start to move the two of you to your car as she speaks. “I only had to do eight minutes, but I said “fuck that I'll make it twenty-four!” and stayed out for longer than that.”

“Dude you know you shouldn't bet against Vriska.” Your tone is stern but more for worry than chastising.

“What gave it away?” She's more than a little sarcastic because you both know there is only one person crazy enough to bet someone like that and include their signature fucking number. “But yeah, I know. We've been friends since we were kids, though. Can't really say no to her even if I know she's batshit.” She points across the street. “Hey there's my car, mind if we just get me back home?”

“Uh, yeah no problem do you want me to follow behind you or...?”

“No just come with me in mine, dummy! It's way faster that way.” She gives you that devilish grin again and just elbows you in the ribs with more force than needed.

“Fine! Jesus H. Christ I'm coming, okay?” You laugh as she does and make your way across the street.

Letting her out of the warm cave of your coat, she quickly slides into the driver's side and starts the car, being sure to adjust all of her mirrors to where they should be. When you slide in on the passenger side, she points up. “Pucker up, Vantas.”

“Huh?” You have no eloquent remarks for that, but you look up to see mistletoe decorating the roof of her car. “Oh for fuck's sake—!”

She cuts you off with a quick peck to your lips and you're so fucking glad it's so cold out. She shouldn't be able to see how badly you're flushing if you're cold, right? Fuck you are in trouble. But she stays surprisingly quiet until the two of you reach her building. The car idles in her space and you just sit there for a moment. She stares at the wheel as you watch her and she tilts her head. “You didn't put up much of a fight there, Karkat.”

The smile is on her lips again and you feel your cheeks warm. “So?”

“ _So_ it would make someone else maybe think you didn't care if you were kissed.” You swallow thickly realizing that she's going to make so much fun of you. Abort mission. Abandon ship. Sugar you are going down _and you are not swinging_. “I'm glad.”

Her words make you freeze for a second before you realize this is the chance you've been waiting for. The fucking romcom moment you have waited for your entire adult life staring you right in the face. Her eyes are on _you_ and she was glad that you seemed to almost want to kiss her. Or at least that you didn't stop her. So with all of the courage that you can muster, you lean in and press a soft kiss to her lips with your hand on her cheek.

You don't move for a second and your eyes are screwed shut, but you can feel every breath between the two of you and it's surreal when she speaks. “Was wondering how long that would take.”

“What?”

“Just shut up and kiss me again, Karkat.”

You don't dare argue or protest. You were both in the same boat then? You don't want to know how long she's had a crush on you too, but you hope it's been as long as you've had one on her. As your lips meet hers again, though, you're too busy thinking about how soft she is to wonder about the little details.


End file.
